ABSTRACT
The changing balance of university-state relations, apparently to the advantage of the latter, has generally been deplored by the former—hence the myth of a "golden time" of university freedom described at the start of this chapter. The temptation to categorize university-state relations in terms of key variables such as the legal status of universities, the presence or absence of intermediary agencies, dependence on public funds, or acceptance of market strategies is obvious. The standard account of university-state relations in Britain over the past quarter century—a story of the relentless erosion of university autonomy by an aggressive state interest, the expulsion of the universities from an academic Eden—is largely a myth. One of the proudest claims made by universities is that they are autonomous institutions, insulated from direct political pressures and able to pursue their own agendas in both teaching and research. Such autonomy is generally regarded as a primary characteristic of universities.
